Sunil Gangopadhyay
Encyclopedia
Sunil Gangopadhyay (born 7 September 1934) is a celebrated India
n poet and novelist.
in what is now Bangladesh
. He studied at the Surendranath College
, Dumdum Motizhil College , City College, Kolkata
, all affiliated with the University of Calcutta
. Thereafter, he obtained his Master's degree in Bengali
from the University of Calcutta
in 1954.
, a seminal poetry magazine started publishing from 1953, that became a platform for a new generation of poets experimenting with many new forms in poetic themes, rhythms, and words. Later, he started writing for various publications of the Ananda Bazar group, a major publishing
house in Kolkata
and has been continuing it for many years. He became friends with the beat poet Allen Ginsberg
while he was traveling in India. Ginsberg mentioned Gangopadhyay most notedly in his poem September on Jessore Road. Gangopadhyay in return mentioned Ginsberg in some of his prose work. After serving five years as the Vice President, he was elected the President of the Sahitya Akademi
on February 20, 2008
Sunil, along with Tarun Sanyal, Jyotirmoy Datta
and Satrajit Dutta had volunteered to be defense witnesses in the famous trial of হাংি র আন্দোলন (Hungryalism) poet Malay Roy Choudhury
.
of well over 200 books, Sunil is a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres but declares poetry
to be his "first love". His Nikhilesh and Neera series of poems (some of which have been translated as For You, Neera and Murmur in the Woods) have been extremely popular.
As in poetry, Sunil is known for his unique style in prose. Arjun, Pratidwandi, filmed by Satyajit Ray
(English title: The Adversary), Aranyer Din-Raatri (The Days and Nights of the Forest, also filmed by Satyajit Ray), Ekaa ebong Koyekjon are some of his well known works of fiction. His historical fiction Sei Somoy (translated into English by Aruna Chakravorty as Those Days) received the India
n Sahitya Akademi
award in 1985. Sei Somoy continues to be a best seller more than two decade after its first publication. The same is true for Pratham Alo (also translated recently by Aruna Chakravorty as First Light), another best selling historical fiction and Purbo-Paschim, a raw depiction of the partition
and its aftermath seen through the eyes of three generations of Bengalis in West Bengal, Bangladesh and elsewhere. He is also the winner of the Bankim Puraskar (1982), and the Ananda Puraskar (twice, in 1972 and 1989).
Sunil has written (and still writes) in many other genres including travelogues, children's fiction, short stories, features, and essays. Among his pen-names are: Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Nil Upadhyay.
Though he has written all types of children's fiction, one character created by him that stands out above the rest, is Kakababu
, the crippled adventurist, accompanied by his young adult
nephew Santu, and his friend Jojo. Since 1974, Sunil Gangopadhyay has written over 35 novels of this popular series, most of which appeared in Anandamela
magazine.
One of Sunil Gangopadhyay's cult poems, Smritir Shohor has been turned into a song for the film Iti Mrinalini (2011) directed by Aparna Sen.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n poet and novelist.
Early life
He was born in FaridpurFaridpur District
Faridpur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur District has a population of over 1.7 million people and is situated on the banks of the Padma river . It is bordered by Madaripur, Narail, Rajbari, Magura, Shariatpur, Gopalgonj, Dhaka and Manikganj...
in what is now Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. He studied at the Surendranath College
Surendranath College
Surendranath College is an undergraduate college affiliated to the University of Calcutta, in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1884 by the nationalist leader Surendranath Banerjea....
, Dumdum Motizhil College , City College, Kolkata
City College, Kolkata
City College is a constituent undergraduate college of the University of Calcutta. Established in 1881, it is one of the heritage institutions of Calcutta which played a prominent social role in the wake of the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth century. The college is located at 102/1, Raja...
, all affiliated with the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
. Thereafter, he obtained his Master's degree in Bengali
Bengali literature
Bengali literature is literary works written in Bengali language particularly from Bangladesh and the Indian provinces of West Bengal and Tripura. The history of Bengali literature traces back hundreds of years while it is impossible to separate the literary trends of the two Bengals during the...
from the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
in 1954.
Literary career
He was the founder editor of KrittibasKrittibas
Krittibas is a Bengali poetry magazine that first appeared in Kolkata in 1953. It played a highly influential role in the Kolkata literary scene in the decades after Indian independence, and provided a platform for young, experimental poets, many of whom went on to become luminaries of modern...
, a seminal poetry magazine started publishing from 1953, that became a platform for a new generation of poets experimenting with many new forms in poetic themes, rhythms, and words. Later, he started writing for various publications of the Ananda Bazar group, a major publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
house in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and has been continuing it for many years. He became friends with the beat poet Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
while he was traveling in India. Ginsberg mentioned Gangopadhyay most notedly in his poem September on Jessore Road. Gangopadhyay in return mentioned Ginsberg in some of his prose work. After serving five years as the Vice President, he was elected the President of the Sahitya Akademi
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
on February 20, 2008
Sunil, along with Tarun Sanyal, Jyotirmoy Datta
Jyotirmoy Datta
Jyotirmoy Datta is a Bengali writer, journalist, poet, and an essayist. He worked for The Statesman, Calcutta's oldest English-language daily, as feature writer, film critic, correspondent, and associate editor. He visited the University of Chicago as a lecturer, 1966–1968, and also did a...
and Satrajit Dutta had volunteered to be defense witnesses in the famous trial of হাংি র আন্দোলন (Hungryalism) poet Malay Roy Choudhury
Malay Roy Choudhury
Malay Roy Choudhury is a Bengali poet and novelist who founded the "Hungryalist Movement" in the 1960s. His literary works have been reviewed by sixty critics in HAOWA 49, a quarterly magazine which devoted its January 2001 special issue to Roy Choudhury's life and works...
.
Awards and honors
- 1972: Ananda Puraskar
- 1985: Sahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
- 1989: Ananda Puraskar
- 2002: Sheriff of KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
- 2004: Saraswati SammanSaraswati SammanThe Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India.The award consists...
- 2011: The Hindu Literary PrizeThe Hindu Literary PrizeThe Hindu Literary Prize or The Hindu Best Fiction Award is an Indian literary award sponsored by The Hindu Literary Review which is part of the The Hindu paper. It recognizes Indian works in English and English translation...
, shortlist, The Fakir
Personal life
He married Swati Bandopadhyay on February 26, 1967. Their only son, Sauvik was born on November 20, 1967.Works
AuthorAuthor
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of well over 200 books, Sunil is a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres but declares poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
to be his "first love". His Nikhilesh and Neera series of poems (some of which have been translated as For You, Neera and Murmur in the Woods) have been extremely popular.
As in poetry, Sunil is known for his unique style in prose. Arjun, Pratidwandi, filmed by Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
(English title: The Adversary), Aranyer Din-Raatri (The Days and Nights of the Forest, also filmed by Satyajit Ray), Ekaa ebong Koyekjon are some of his well known works of fiction. His historical fiction Sei Somoy (translated into English by Aruna Chakravorty as Those Days) received the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Sahitya Akademi
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
award in 1985. Sei Somoy continues to be a best seller more than two decade after its first publication. The same is true for Pratham Alo (also translated recently by Aruna Chakravorty as First Light), another best selling historical fiction and Purbo-Paschim, a raw depiction of the partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
and its aftermath seen through the eyes of three generations of Bengalis in West Bengal, Bangladesh and elsewhere. He is also the winner of the Bankim Puraskar (1982), and the Ananda Puraskar (twice, in 1972 and 1989).
Sunil has written (and still writes) in many other genres including travelogues, children's fiction, short stories, features, and essays. Among his pen-names are: Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Nil Upadhyay.
Though he has written all types of children's fiction, one character created by him that stands out above the rest, is Kakababu
Kakababu
Kakababu is a fiction character created by Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay, that has become legendary in Indian children's literature. The series, falling under adventure genre of literature, targeted at children and teenagers, started in the autumn of 1971 with the publication of Bhoyonkor...
, the crippled adventurist, accompanied by his young adult
Young adult (psychology)
A young adult, according to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, is generally a person between the age of 20 - 40, whereas an adolescent is a person between the age of 13 - 19, although definitions and opinions vary. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. A...
nephew Santu, and his friend Jojo. Since 1974, Sunil Gangopadhyay has written over 35 novels of this popular series, most of which appeared in Anandamela
Anandamela
Anandamela or, Anondamela, or, Anonodomela is a children's periodical in the Bengali language published by ABP Limited from Kolkata, India...
magazine.
One of Sunil Gangopadhyay's cult poems, Smritir Shohor has been turned into a song for the film Iti Mrinalini (2011) directed by Aparna Sen.
Novels
His first novel was Atmaprakash. His other novels include:- Aranyer Dinratri
- Sei Samay
- Rokto
- Arjun
- Purush
- Agniputro
- Sorol Satya
- Byaktigoto
- Pratidwandi
- Mohaprithibi
- Roktomangsho
- Bandhubandhab - an unusual work on friendship
- Purba-Paschim (in two parts) - an epic novel on east and west Bengal
- Jeeban Je Rakam
- Eka Ebong Koekjon - Bengal & India during early 20th century up to Independence
- Ardhek Manobi
- Pratham Alo (in two parts) - an epic novel on Bengal Renaissance where Tagore & Swami Vivekananda are two of the few main protagonists. Their journey through life as teenagers to grow up being the man they eventually did marks this epic as a literary masterpiece.
- Nihsanga Samrat
- Ranu O Bhanu
- Moner Manush-made into a motion film by Goutam Ghose, starring Prosenjit as Lalon Fakir, a famous and iconic baul poet of early 18th-19th Century Bengal
Kakababu series
- Sabuj Dwiper Raja
- Kakababu O Sindukrahasya
- Kakababu O Bajralama
- Santu Kothay,Kakababu Kothay
- Vijaynagarer Hire
- Jangaler Modhe Ek Hotel
- Bhayankar Sundoor
- Santu O Ak Tukro Chand
- Kakababu Herey Gelen?
- Kolkatar Jongole
- Bhopal Rahashya
- Pahar Churae Atanka
- Khali Jahajer Rohosyo
- Agun Pakhir Rohoshyo
- Kakababu O Chorashikari
- "Sadhubabar haat(Short Story)"
- "Ulka Rahoshsho"
- "Kakababu O Ek Chhodmobeshi"
- "Ebar Kakababur Protishodh"
- "Mishor Rohoshsho(Mystery in Egypt)"
- "Kakababu O Ashchorjo Dweep"
- "Agneyogirir peter madhye"
- Kakababu O Jaladashu
See also
- Shakti ChattopadhyayShakti ChattopadhyayShakti Chattopadhay was a Bengali poet and writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest poet of 20th century Bengali literature. -External links:...
- Samir RoychoudhurySamir RoychoudhurySamir Roychowdhury , one of the founding fathers of the Hungry Generation 1961-1965 ,was born at Panihati, West Bengal, India in a family of artists, sculptors, photographers and musicians...
- Malay Roy ChoudhuryMalay Roy ChoudhuryMalay Roy Choudhury is a Bengali poet and novelist who founded the "Hungryalist Movement" in the 1960s. His literary works have been reviewed by sixty critics in HAOWA 49, a quarterly magazine which devoted its January 2001 special issue to Roy Choudhury's life and works...
- Sandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan Chattopadhyay was a Bengali writer. In 1961 he wrote the book "Kritadas Kritadasi" it changed the landscape of Bengali fiction and created a niche for himself...
- Hungry generationHungry generationThe Hungry Generation was a literary movement in the Bengali language launched by what is known today as the Hungryalist quartet i.e. Shakti Chattopadhyay, Malay Roy Choudhury, Samir Roychoudhury and Debi Roy alias Haradhon Dhara, during the 1960s in Kolkata, India...
External links
- Bengali authors biographical sketch by Parabaas
- - An explorative interview of Sunil Gangopadhyay, the poet
- complete website of Sunil Gangopadhyay
- Website of Krittibas Patrika
- Four poems in Bengali text
- Poem "ei ekTu bhAlobAsAr kathA" Original with translation
- The South Asian Literary recordings project
- eight poems in Bengali text